The new face of Patagonia

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It’s not hard to fall in love with Patagonia. A vast chunk of territory stretching across Chile and Argentina at the foot of South America, it is a land of soaring craggy mountains and jade-blue glacial lakes. But Kris Tompkins (then Kris McDivitt, CEO of the Patagonia outdoor clothing company) found love here too. A chance meeting in a tiny restaurant in the middle of nowhere was the beginning of a great adventure.

The man she bumped into was an old friend, Doug Tompkins. An American civil rights activist, climber and skier, he had abandoned his high-school education in New York and drawn on his knowledge of the great outdoors to design the poleless tent that founded his fortune. In 1964 he launched the North Face outdoor equipment company and later he was a founder of the Esprit clothing brand that went on to become a multinational business with $1 billion-plus in sales.

Kris and Doug Tompkins

By his mid-40s, Doug was “getting restless” in business and embracing environmental activism. In the late Eighties he sold his share in Esprit and in 1990 set up the Foundation for Deep Ecology, moving to Patagonia and spending vast amounts of his not insignificant wealth preserving its habitats.

That’s when he met Kris. Maybe it was the unique atmosphere of this part of the continent, but something clicked. Shortly afterwards, Kris quit her CEO job and flew out to join Doug. “We still thank God we ran into each other,” she tells me. “What would we be doing if we hadn’t?”

Accommodation includes cosy lodges

Since then, using their own money and gifts from like-minded donors, the couple have bought 2.2 million acres of land in Patagonia to protect it for future generations. In May 2013, they donated 37,500 acres of the Andes to enlarge Argentina’s Perito Moreno national park. That December, they donated more than 94,000 acres in Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of the Americas, to form the core of another new national park.

Where next in the big giveaway? The vast expanse of land I am visiting now. Parque Patagonia is the couple’s showcase project in Chile, covering nearly 200,000 acres of the remote Aysén region. Patagonia is becoming popular with tourists, particularly on the Argentine side. Aficionados might even say it’s a little crowded in some places. But this spectacular place is way off the beaten track – literally. You need a 4x4 to get there.

Mountains, lakes, glaciers and glorious blue skies are among the attractions of Chilean Patagonia

Much of the land that forms Parque Patagonia was grazed by cattle and sheep. Now it is being returned to its natural state, whether people like it or not. Although the more outlandish accusations, such as building uranium mines and creating landing strips for UFOs, are largely behind them, the Tompkinses are not welcomed by all. Some ranchers remain concerned about wild animals from the park killing their livestock. Others are worried about the loss of so much land that could potentially be used for agriculture. Many locals are simply wary of such large-scale intervention by rich outsiders.

Nevertheless, the Parque Patagonia project has already achieved much. Wild species previously on the danger list are slowly recovering, in particular South America’s only big cat, the majestic and shy puma, and a unique species of deer, the huemul.

Kris and I are sitting on a huge sofa in the lodge they are just completing for tourism to start in earnest in October, when the new season begins. She is relaxed about the critics, secure in the knowledge that the park will bring tourists and much-needed economic development to this part of Chile. The couple will be long gone by then. The handover to the Chile Parks Authority is already under way. Once this is done, Parque Patagonia will be Chile’s newest national park.

"It has been a wildly arduous task. It’s beautiful here, spectacular"

The lodge is atmospheric with dark wood panelling, a vast fireplace and antique furniture reclaimed from old houses in Buenos Aires. There are just six bedrooms offering comfy if slightly eclectic sleeping options, with bunk beds in two. Four more deluxe doubles will be ready for the new season. “It has been a wildly arduous task,” Kris says. “It’s beautiful here, spectacular. We wanted architecture that would reflect the habitat, putting the project on the same level as protecting a masterpiece.”

We set out next day to explore the park. Along with a visitors’ centre and campsite, there are marked trails of varying lengths. The High Lakes trail is a circular hike of 17 miles. Matías, one of the locals trained as guides, leads the way. When he’s not guiding, he works with local schoolchildren. With support from the Parque Patagonia project, he brings them here to camp and learn about conservation.

The trail takes us first through low-level grassland. Before we get properly started we see a small herd of guanacos, like a camel without the hump. They fix us with long, curious glances. “We can get quite close, they’re not all afraid of people,” says Matías. As we walk on, the way is littered with tiny filaments of ice – dew that has frozen – the most delicate of mud-dusted fronds, sparkling and crunchy underfoot.

“This is my favourite time of year,” Matías says. “Autumn brings out the colours.” A local deciduous tree, the ñire (Antarctic beech), is particularly lovely. Its tiny, deep-red leaves almost glow in the early sunlight. Vast swaths grow only at certain altitudes, creating red horizontal stripes across the mountains. As we climb my pulse thuds through my temples. The air is chilly and clear. It feels good to exert myself. I fill my water bottle from a cool mountain stream and drink great gulps. Matías points out unusual fungi, wild strawberries and birds.

At the top the terrain becomes easier and we settle into a comfortable rhythm. We drop behind steep escarpments to discover the first of several shimmering lakes. We spot paw prints in the dust. “Puma,” says Matías. “Probably a young one and its mother.” We find more evidence of the big cats’ presence, the half-eaten corpse of a guanaco. The puma population is critically endangered. “For years they were killed, seen as a menace to the ranchers’ sheep,” says Matías. Pumas are hard to spot in the wild. In his years of guiding Matías has only seen one. We keep our eyes peeled, to no avail.

?It is my dream,? says Matías, ?to bring people here every day and show them this incredible place

We skirt another glassy-blue lake and arrive on a vast table of granite. Laid out in front is the Chacabuco river valley. The view goes on forever, with different hues and textures at every level. Snow-capped peaks far away glisten in the sun, foothills are a surprising dark blue from this distance, the river snakes across the valley floor, green and moody. We sit, silent, awed by the scenery.

“It is my dream,” says Matías, “to bring people here every day and show them this incredible place.” On the way back he points out a shrub covered in small black berries. He plucks a few. They are sharp, refreshing, like blueberries. “They’re called calafate,” he says. “Locals believe that if you eat them, you will come back to Patagonia.” I cram a couple more into my mouth. I’ve fallen in love too.

Getting there

Tour operator

Pura Aventura (01273 676712, pura-aventura.com) offers a 13-day self-drive trip to the Aysén region from £2,200 per person. The price includes three nights at Parque Patagonia Lodge, two nights at Entre Hielos, five nights at family-run lodges, two nights in Santiago, private guide at the Parque, excursions to the Exploradores Glacier and the icefields, and 4x4 hire.